This one's a doozy..

[5hredder]

Thank you all again for your help and kindness..
We had a look at the websites mentioned, but the one that really got us thinking was the last link regarding NC2.. could she be adopted?

...you should find references to its being a fictitious district for post-adoption certificates. Notably it also says that the birthplace is always stated as Dublin, even if the birth was actually elsewhere.

I dragged out the BIG box of photographs earlier and we have spent most of the day going through them, trying to piece together something.. we've found a set of pictures that all look to have been taken on the same day. Laura looks to be about 18 months old and there's also another baby which looks a little younger(?) called Paul - both of them in similar clothing and bouncy chairs. Also in the pictures are two nuns who are holding Laura. Other than that, there aren't any recognisable adults in any of the pictures.. which seems a bit odd?

Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be upset at the possibility of being adopted..

I'll keep you all posted

[avm228]

Hi again Rory

You will no doubt have found it by now, but the full link I was trying to direct you to (but couldn't link to from my Ipad) was this one:

www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?id=2008-03-05.76.0&s=dublin+nc2#g91.0

Another resource which may be useful in following up the possibility of adoption is this one:

www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/index.htm

It appears from the information available that it may be a fiddly and slow process obtaining the full birth certificate if it turns out Laura was adopted.  Given the tight timescale you're working to, it may be worth your while revisiting the marriage licence issue (I don't know which country you're getting married in) to see whether the identity information she currently has will suffice for those purposes.

The photos do sound intriguing.  Are the children's names written on the back - and is there any other writing which may provide a clue?

[aghadowey]

Yes, it is all a great mystery. Was wondering when I read the earlier post about this bit about the baptismal certificate "Under the Names of Parents are her father's name, and the name of a woman Laura doesn't know (and never has). The woman that brought her up as, and Laura always thought was her 'mum' never showed her love or affection of any kind which has made her feel that perhaps she might not have been - the fact that her name doesn't appear on the baptism certificate has obviously raised a million questions which no one can answer - every one's dead."
If her father is listed on the baptismal cert. then it sounds like he would have been her father, so, could he have originally been married to the woman on the cert. when Laura was born, mother died/parents divorced/unable to care for Laura/children so they were placed in care for a little while. Then, when he met/married another woman Laura was taken back from care and raised by them.
If father & 2nd wife when to court to adopt her then a new certificate might have been ordered in 1976.

Another point is that although the 'parents' are named on the 1961 bapt. cert. it doesn't necessarily mean that both were present at the baptism. Are there any godparents listed?

[confused73]

Not sure if this helps, but my mother only had a short birth certificate and had no problem getting married or getting a passport with just that. She was worried about it but was not brave enough to send for the full version, which I did after she died. All was Fine in her case.

[avm228]

A couple of further thoughts.

If Laura's known father was her natural father, and any adoption was simply to bring a stepmother into the picture, that would be good news as it would make it less likely her name was changed. A caveat to that would be if her natural parents had not been married, in which case her surname may have been changed to that of the father at the time of adoption.  If an adoption was by unrelated parents then the chances increase of both given names and surname being changed.

The 1971 date for the baptism is interesting as depending on the precise dates it sounds as though the photos might have been taken about 1971.  I wonder whether the children's attire in the photos is in keeping with their being baptism photos? In discussions with the church it may be worth inquiring as to whether a Paul was baptised with Laura.